Per Capita Income (PCI) is one of the most widely used indicators for gauging the economic performance and changing fortunes of local economies. It is used as a yardstick to assess the economic well being of a region's residents and the quality of consumer markets. It serves as a barometer for calibrating the economic performance of a region over time and to judge differences in relative economic prosperity between regions. Shifting trends in local per capita income growth have important social and political ramifications and significant implications in formulating local economic development strategies and initiatives.

Personal income is measured as a flow throughout the year, while the measurement of population is at one point in mid-year. Therefore, per capita income is distorted if a significant change in population occurs during the year.

For smaller counties in particular, per capita income in any given year may be exceptionally high or low for the short run because of unusual local conditions, such as a bumper crop, a catastrophe, or a major construction project as the building of a dam or nuclear power plant.

Farm incomes are notorious for being especially volatile year-to-year, owing to changing weather, commodity market conditions, and alterations in government programs. Therefore, the per capita income of farm-dependent counties may exhibit sharp fluctuations over time.

The presence of large institutional populations--such as residents attending a local college or the residents of a local prison or state mental institution--can significantly lower the per capita income estimates of an area. Such results may not reflect the relative economic well being of the non-institutional population and may mislead if care is not given to their interpretation.

Figure 1 depicts Natrona County's annual per capita personal income over 1970-2021 in current and constant (2012) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of Natrona County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Natrona County's per capita personal income increased 1,393.58%, from $4,698 in 1970 to $70,175 in 2021. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 170.11%, from $22,470 in 1970 to $60,694 in 2021.

Figure 2 tracks Natrona County's and Wyoming's annual real per capita personal income for the period 1969-2021 to illustrate real per capita personal income patterns over time. During this 53-year period, Natrona County's real per capita personal income rose from $21,855 in 1969 to $60,694 in 2021, for a net gain of $38,839, or 177.71%. In comparison, Wyoming's real per capita personal income advanced from $18,542 in 1969 to $60,254 in 2021, for a net gain of $41,712, or 224.97%.

Figure 3 portrays Natrona County's real per capita personal income growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Wyoming, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's real per capita personal income in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the real per capita personal incomes in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in real per capita personal income growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.

Natrona County's overall real per capita personal income growth was 177.71% over 1969-2021 trailed Wyoming's increase of 224.97%, and fell below the United States' increase of 181.94%.

Figure 4 portrays the trends for per capita personal income relative to the national average by tracing Natrona County and Wyoming per capita personal income as a percent of the national average over 1969-2021.

In 1969, Natrona County's per capita personal income amounted to 111.07% of the national average; in 2021, it approximated 109.40%. Similarly, in 1969, Wyoming's per capita personal income totaled 94.23% of the national average; in 2021, it consisted of 108.61%.

Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Natrona County's real per capita personal income growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2021. The average annual percent change for the entire 52-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.

On average, Natrona County's real per capita personal income grew at an annual rate of 2.18% over 1970-2021. The county recorded its highest growth in 2006 (12.14%) and posted its lowest growth in 2009 (-15.15%). In 2021, Natrona County's real per capita personal income grew by 0.34%

Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again traces the annual percent change in Natrona County's real per capita personal income since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2021.

During the 1970s, Natrona County's annual real per capita personal income growth rate averaged 4.81%. It averaged -0.82% during the 1980s, 1.91% during the 1990s, 2.88% throughout the 2000s, 2.99% during the 2010s, -2.19% thus far this decade (2020-2021).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Natrona County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Wyoming and the nation. As the chart reveals, Natrona County's average annual real per capita personal income growth topped Wyoming's average during the 1970s (4.81% vs. 4.27%), trailed Wyoming's average in the 1980s (-0.82% vs. -0.15%), fell below Wyoming's average during the 1990s (1.91% vs. 2.77%), surpassed Wyoming's average in the 2000s (2.88% vs. 2.87%), recorded above Wyoming's average in the 2010s (2.99% vs. 2.17%), and recorded under Wyoming's average over the 2 year period of the current decade, 2020-2021 (-2.19% vs. 1.64%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real per capita personal income growth trends, Natrona County outpaced the nation over the 1970s (4.81% vs. 2.37%), recorded underneath the nation in the 1980s (-0.82% vs. 2.20%), trailed the nation in the 1990s (1.91% vs. 2.04%), outpaced the nation during the 2000s (2.88% vs. 1.08%), outpaced the nation in the 2010s (2.99% vs. 2.04%), and recorded underneath the nation over 2020-2021 (-2.19% vs. 4.13%).